by Linda Geddes The quest to understand the genetic underpinnings of autism has taken a big stride forward with the discovery of a genetic variant carried by more than two thirds of people with the disorder. Previous studies that have identified several genes that are implicated in autism, but Hakon Hakonarson of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who led the new study, says they are extremely rare and account for a very small proportion of autism. "We have for the first time identified a common variant, present in over 65 per cent of autism cases." To identify the gene, Hakonarson and his colleagues screened DNA from more than 2500 people with autism and more than 7000 healthy controls, searching for common gene variants that were associated with the condition. The gene lies between two other genes called CAD 10 and CAD 9, which encode adhesion molecules that enable neurons to connect and communicate with one another – and CAD 10 is already known to be expressed in the very regions of the brain that appear to malfunction in people with autism. Because other, rarer genes associated with autism also encode cell adhesion molecules, researchers had previously speculated that a breakdown in neural connections during development might lie at the root of the condition. The current study provides the first genetic evidence that a similar problem could be implicated in a large number of cases, Hakonarson says. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd

Keyword: Autism; Genes & Behavior
Link ID: 12808 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A good night's sleep could reduce hyperactivity and bad behaviour among children, a Finnish study reports. It has been suggested that some children who lack sleep do not appear tired, but instead behave badly. Of the 280 examined in the Pediatrics study, those who slept for fewer than eight hours were the most hyperactive. Experts said adequate sleep could improve behaviour in healthy children and reduce symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It is recognised that chronic sleep deprivation is a problem for many adults in Western countries and that it can have consequences for their health and daily life. The team behind this research said not enough was understood about the role of sleep in children's lives but it has been estimated that a third of US children do not get enough sleep. In this research, the team from the University of Helsinki and Finland's National Institute of Health and Welfare studied 280 healthy children aged seven or eight. They wanted to see if those healthy children who slept the least were the most likely to display the kind of symptoms associated with ADHD. None of the children studied had the attention disorder. Parents filled in questionnaires about their children's usual sleeping habits and then noted how long their children slept for over seven nights. The children also wore devices called actigraphs, which measure movement, to monitor how long they actually rested for. Parents' estimates of sleep duration were longer than the actigraph measurements, which the researchers say could be because they measured from bedtime or because they assumed their children were asleep when they were simply lying awake in bed or reading. The parents were also asked about their children's behaviour, using measures normally used to diagnose ADHD. The children whose average sleep duration as measured by actigraphs was shorter than 7.7 hours had a higher hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour score. They also had a higher ADHD symptom score overall. (C)BBC

Keyword: Sleep; ADHD
Link ID: 12807 - Posted: 04.28.2009

Children with attention deficit problems make bigger academic gains if they are taking stimulant medications compared to similar kids who aren’t receiving drug therapy, a new study shows. The findings, from a five year study of nearly 600 schoolchildren from across the country, are believed to be the first to offer an objective measure of the effect of drug therapy on a child’s long-term academic achievement. Earlier studies have shown that children who receive medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder behave better in class and can complete more homework. But it hasn’t been clear whether treating A.D.H.D. results in any measurable improvement in long-term academic gains. The latest study, conducted by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and published in Pediatrics, tracked standardized math and reading scores among a nationally-representative sample of 600 children from kindergarten through the fifth grade, all of whom had been diagnosed with A.D.H.D. The researchers compared the scores of the students who were on A.D.H.D. medications with similarly diagnosed students who weren’t receiving drug therapy. In the study, taking A.D.H.D. medication was associated with gains in math scores that equated to about a fifth of a school year in extra learning. In reading, the gains were even greater, equating to progress of about a third of a school year. “I think the findings are important because this is the first time that we’ve had objective educational performance measures, to look at whether kids who are taking medications for A.D.H.D. compared to kids who are not, that actually show that they are doing better,” said Richard Scheffler, distinguished professor of health economics and public policy at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

Keyword: ADHD
Link ID: 12806 - Posted: 06.24.2010

Fatty foods 'offer memory boost' A team at the University of California, Irvine discovered oleic acids from fats are converted into a memory-enhancing agent in the gut. They hope their work, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could offer a new way to treat memory-related problems. Drugs to mimic the action of the compound are in trials for controlling the dangerous fat triglyceride. Evidence shows high levels of oleoylethanolamide or OEA can reduce appetite, produce weight loss and lower blood cholesterol as well as triglyceride levels, making it an attractive candidate as a diet pill too. Dr Daniele Piomelli and his team discovered that OEA also causes memories to be laid down by activating memory-enhancing signals in the amygdala - the part of the brain involved with memories of emotional events. When they gave OEA to rats, it improved their memory retention in two different tests - running in a maze and avoiding an unpleasant experience. And when they blocked OEA with a drug, their performance on the tasks declined. Dr Piomelli said there was an evolutionary explanation for this role of OEA. He said: "By helping mammals remember where and when they have eaten a fatty meal, OEA's memory-enhancing activity seems to have been an important evolutionary tool for early humans and other animals. "Remembering the location and context of a fatty meal was probably an important survival mechanism for early humans." But he said this might not always be helpful. While OEA contributes to feelings of fullness after a meal, it could also engender long-term cravings for fatty foods that, when eaten in excess, can cause obesity. (C)BBC

Keyword: Learning & Memory; Obesity
Link ID: 12805 - Posted: 04.28.2009

Alison Abbott Nearly half of the neuroimaging studies published in prestige journals in 2008 contain unintentionally biased data that could distort their scientific conclusions, according to scientists at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Experts in the field contacted by Nature have been taken aback by the extent of the methodological errors getting through the supposedly strict peer-review systems of the journals in question. Nikolaus Kriegeskorte, Chris Baker and their colleagues analysed 134 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies published last year in five top journals — Nature, Science, Nature Neuroscience, Neuron and The Journal of Neuroscience. The survey, published in Nature Neuroscience on 26 April (N. Kriegeskorte, W. K. Simmons, P. S. F. Bellgowan and C. I. Baker Nature Neurosci. 12, 535–540; 2009), found that 57 of these papers included at least one so-called 'non-independent selective analysis'; another 20 may also have done so, but did not provide enough information to confirm suspicions. The non-independence of the analysis lies in using the same data to set up the conditions to test a hypothesis, then to confirm it. "We are not saying that the papers draw wrong conclusions, because in some cases the error will not have been critical," says Baker. "But in other cases we don't know, and this creates an ambiguity." © 2009 Nature Publishing Group

Keyword: Brain imaging
Link ID: 12804 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Six years after their discovery, the extinct little people nicknamed hobbits who once occupied the Indonesian island of Flores remain mystifying anomalies in human evolution, out of place in time and geography, their ancestry unknown. Recent research has only widened their challenge to conventional thinking about the origins, transformations and migrations of the early human family. Indeed, the more scientists study the specimens and their implications, the more they are drawn to heretical speculation. Were these primitive survivors of even earlier hominid migrations out of Africa, before Homo erectus migrated about 1.8 million years ago? Could some of the earliest African toolmakers, around 2.5 million years ago, have made their way across Asia? Did some of these migrants evolve into new species in Asia, which moved back to Africa? Two-way traffic is not unheard of in other mammals. Or could the hobbits be an example of reverse evolution? That would seem even more bizarre; there are no known cases in primate evolution of a wholesale reversion to some ancestor in its lineage. The possibilities get curiouser and curiouser, said William L. Jungers of Stony Brook University, making hobbits “the black swan of paleontology — totally unpredicted and inexplicable.” Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 12803 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Rowan Hooper PERHAPS because of its non-serious nature, play has been a neglected, even embarrassing subject for serious scientists. Little work has been done on what it's for - that is, its evolutionary function. The Playful Brain has a stab at rectifying this, with some success. Play is so complicated, say the authors, that to understand it we need to build up a towering "layer cake" of information about neurology, physiology and juvenile development. Primates are difficult to experiment on - for this reason, and because of the authors' area of expertise, we are plunged straight into a detailed analysis of play fighting in rats. We have to wade through a lot of technical reading to get to the good stuff - and here I'm going to be shamelessly pro-ape - the parts about primates in general, and humans in particular. I enjoyed an anecdote about two juvenile gorillas play fighting, bashing into each other's shoulders. One abruptly changes his attack, and grabs the other's genitals, making him leap into the air in surprise. So what is play actually for? Pellis and Pellis show that play improves social competence by honing the emotional and intellectual skills necessary to thrive in society. This explains why males play more than females: females are more socially competent to start with, while males by their nature are more aggressive and competitive. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd

Keyword: Development of the Brain
Link ID: 12802 - Posted: 06.24.2010

David Kessler researched part of "The End of Overeating" by diving into dumpsters behind restaurants to look for the nutritional labels of menu items high in fat, salt and sugar. He went in the middle of the night, long after the last employee had locked up the Chili's Grill and Bar. He'd steer his car around the back, check to make sure no one was around and then quietly approach the dumpster. If anyone noticed the man foraging through the trash, they would have assumed he was a vagrant. Except he was wearing black dress slacks and padded gardening gloves. "I'm surprised he didn't wear a tie," his wife said dryly. The high-octane career path of David A. Kessler, the Harvard-trained doctor, lawyer, medical school dean and former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration had come to this: nocturnal dumpster diving. Sometimes, he would just reach in. Other times, he would climb in. It took many of these forays until Kessler emerged with his prize: ingredient labels affixed to empty cardboard boxes that spelled out the fats, salt and sugar used to make the Southwestern Eggrolls, Boneless Shanghai Wings and other dishes served by the nation's second-largest restaurant chain. Kessler was on a mission to understand a problem that has vexed him since childhood: why he can't resist certain foods. © 2009 The Washington Post Company

Keyword: Obesity; Drug Abuse
Link ID: 12801 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By ANNE EISENBERG EARBUDS can pipe audio directly from a portable player to the ear. But did you ever imagine that eyeglasses or contact lenses could deliver digital images directly from a smartphone to the retina? An eyeglass from SBG Labs has a tiny projector in its frame. Holographics optics create an overlay image — for example, a map to the wearer’s destination. A contact lens created by Babak A. Parviz and a team at the University of Washington in Seattle offers built-in electronics to create displays. Several companies are developing prototypes for digital devices that look like stylish eyewear but may one day offer such capabilities to consumers. The glasses are called heads-up displays because the wearer can always look through them and see the real world — like the sidewalk just ahead — but can also see, on an overlay image, virtual information like an electronic map or an arrow showing the correct way to a destination. The glasses may also help the wearer remember the name of a long-lost friend she sees on the street. SBG Labs, an optical technology company in Sunnyvale, Calif., is among the businesses that are developing the devices. The glasses are only slightly larger than many chic pairs of wraparounds, but instead of bearing rhinestones or designer initials, they hold a tiny projector and optics — tucked away in the side of the frame. Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company

Keyword: Vision; Robotics
Link ID: 12800 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Gabrielle Glaser As evidence of widespread vitamin D deficiency grows, some scientists are wondering whether the sunshine vitamin—once only considered important in bone health—may actually play a role in one of neurology's most vexing conditions: autism. The idea, although not yet tested or widely held, comes out of preliminary studies in Sweden and Minnesota. Last summer, Swedish researchers published a study in Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology that found the prevalence of autism and related disorders was three to four times higher among Somali immigrants than non-Somalis in Stockholm. The study reviewed the records of 2,437 children, born between 1988 and 1998 in Stockholm, in response to parents and teachers who had raised concerns about whether children with a Somali background were overrepresented in the total group of children with autism. In Sweden, the 15,000-strong Somali community calls autism "the Swedish disease," says Elisabeth Fernell, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and a co-author of the study. In Minnesota, where there are an estimated 60,000 Somali immigrants, the situation was quite similar: There, health officials noted reports of autism among Somali refugees, who began arriving in 1993, comparable to those found in Sweden. Within several years of arrival, dozens of the Somali families whose children were born in the U.S. found themselves grappling with autism, says Huda Farah, a Somali-born molecular biologist who works on refugee resettlement issues with Minnesota health officials. The number of Somali children in the city's autism programs jumped from zero in 1999 to 43 in 2007, says Ann Fox, director of special education programs for Minneapolis schools. The number of Somali-speaking children in the Minneapolis school district increased from 1,773 to 2,029 during the same period. © 1996-2009 Scientific American Inc.

Keyword: Autism
Link ID: 12799 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Tina Hesman Saey Early to bed, early to rise makes a man sleepy and inattentive at twilight. A new brain imaging study suggests morning people’s circadian clocks can’t resist the biological pressure to sleep, while night owls don’t buckle as easily. The research, appearing in the April 24 Science, could change the way scientists view the relationship between sleep and the circadian clock. Two systems control sleeping and waking — the circadian clock and the sleep homeostat. The circadian clock helps synch the body’s rhythms, such as the rise and fall of blood pressure and body temperature, with light and dark cycles. The homeostat is a biological accountant that keeps track of how long a person has been awake or asleep and how much sleep the person has had recently — inducing sleep when it’s been too long. As the day goes on, the waking signal from the clock gets stronger, says Derk-Jan Dijk, a professor of sleep and physiology at the University of Surrey in Guildford, England. “It’s not just an alarm clock that gives one signal in the morning,” he says. “It’s really a process.” If the circadian clock operated alone, people would be most awake in the evening, but the homeostat counterbalances the clock’s wake signal. Until now, scientists have either viewed the two systems as separate, or assumed that the clock was the most important factor in determining bedtimes. But the study introduces a new, more intimate link between the two systems. The homeostat plays a more important role than people thought in determining sleeping and waking times, says Allan Pack of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2009

Keyword: Sleep
Link ID: 12798 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Andy Coghlan A small patch of cells that protects the eye from age-related blindness could begin trials in patients within two years in the UK. The pioneering treatment could be one of the first successful applications originating from embryonic stem cells (ESC), the cells in embryos that can grow into all tissues of the body. Because embryos are destroyed when ESCs are obtained, anti-abortion groups have opposed development of treatments based on them. More recently, they've claimed that ESC research is unnecessary because it's now possible to make ordinary tissue into embryonic-like cells called "induced pluripotent" stem cells (iPS). Success of the eye patch would demonstrate that ESCs can indeed lead to valuable treatments, in this case to prevent blindness. In a major boost for the treatment today, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced that it would be funding clinical development of the treatment and helping to win permission from regulatory authorities to proceed with trials. "This offers such an opportunity for patients, and it's time to start mapping that regulatory pathway towards trials," says Ruth McKernan, chief scientific officer of Pfizer Regenerative Medicine. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd

Keyword: Vision; Stem Cells
Link ID: 12797 - Posted: 06.24.2010

The organizers of today's Pro-Test rally at the University of California, Los Angeles, say it succeeded beyond their hopes. Hundreds of people—many of them students and postdocs—came out to show their support for biomedical research. U.S. scientists who use animals in their research have been under attack from animal rights extremists in recent years, and UCLA has been the epicenter. Many scientists have been reluctant to speak up in defense of their work for fear of provoking further harassment. But today that changed. "I'm amazed," UCLA neuroscientist David Jentsch said of the turnout (campus police put the crowd at about 700). Jentsch organized the rally after waking up one night last month to find his car in flames. Animal rights activists later claimed responsibility. Jentsch modeled today's rally on protests at the University of Oxford that helped turn the tide of public opinion against animal rights extremists who opposed construction of a research lab there. Despite the time and effort it took away from his research and the hate e-mail he endured, Jentsch says the rally was worth it. "I think putting our faces on what we do humanizes the effort and makes it harder to write obscene things in the middle of the night and to brutalize people." Pro-testers gathered on the edge of the UCLA campus as a counter protest staged by animal rights groups was winding down across the street. The anti-vivisection rally, part of the annual World Week for Animals in Laboratories, attracted fewer people—several dozen—and at times there seemed to be almost as many journalists as protesters. The media, including CNN and several local television stations, had turned out perhaps hoping to see a confrontation. There wasn't one. The visible police presence may have helped, but everyone on both sides appeared to be on their best behavior. © 2008 American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Keyword: Animal Rights
Link ID: 12796 - Posted: 06.24.2010

A study has found that painkillers such as ibuprofen cannot prevent Alzheimer's disease - but does not rule out that they may delay its onset. Work had raised hope that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) might have a preventative effect. But the latest 12-year study found the risk of dementia was 66% higher in people with heavy NSAID use, compared with those with little or no use. The University of Washington study features in the journal Neurology. A US study published last year and based on data from almost 250,000 veterans showed those who used ibuprofen for more than five years were more than 40% less likely to develop Alzheimer's. The latest research focused on 2,736 people with an average age of 75 at the start of the study. Lead researcher Dr Eric Larson said: "Although we hoped to find a protective effect, there was none. "Thus, for this age group, there's no basis for taking NSAIDs to prevent Alzheimer's disease." His colleague Dr John Breitner said a key difference between the latest study and previous work was that the participants were older. He said: "It has been argued for some time that NSAID use delays the onset of Alzheimer's disease. It would follow that studies looking at younger people who use NSAIDs would show fewer cases of Alzheimer's, while in groups of older people there might be more cases, including those that would have occurred earlier if they had not been delayed. We must not ignore the fundamental finding, which is an increase in the risk of dementia in the NSAID users. We need further research to understand that result more clearly." Rebecca Wood, of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said there were no clear evidence pinning down the effect of NSAIDs - if any - on dementia. (C)BBC

Keyword: Alzheimers
Link ID: 12795 - Posted: 04.23.2009

By LAURAN NEERGAARD WASHINGTON -- Food hijacked Dr. David Kessler's brain. Not apples or carrots. The scientist who once led the government's attack on addictive cigarettes can't wander through part of San Francisco without craving a local shop's chocolate-covered pretzels. Stop at one cookie? Rarely. It's not an addiction but it's similar, and he's far from alone. Kessler's research suggests millions share what he calls "conditioned hypereating" _ a willpower-sapping drive to eat high-fat, high-sugar foods even when they're not hungry. In a book being published next week, the former Food and Drug Administration chief brings to consumers the disturbing conclusion of numerous brain studies: Some people really do have a harder time resisting bad foods. It's a new way of looking at the obesity epidemic that could help spur fledgling movements to reveal calories on restaurant menus or rein in portion sizes. "The food industry has figured out what works. They know what drives people to keep on eating," Kessler tells The Associated Press. "It's the next great public health campaign, of changing how we view food, and the food industry has to be part of it." He calls the culprits foods "layered and loaded" with combinations of fat, sugar and salt _ and often so processed that you don't even have to chew much. Overeaters must take responsibility, too, and basically retrain their brains to resist the lure, he cautions. © 2009 The Associated Press

Keyword: Obesity; Drug Abuse
Link ID: 12794 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Alice Park The promise of energy drinks is pretty irresistible — push your body, work hard, sweat buckets, and if you need an extra boost, down a bottle or two of liquid fuel to drive you through the rest of your workout. Makes sense, since the drinks provide your body with carbohydrates in the form of sugars — the fuel that cells and tissues like muscle need to keep working. But exercise experts say that despite what you may think, energy drinks have no effect at all on your tired muscles. Instead, when your energy is petering out, a swig of an energy drink works on the brain to keep you inspired and motivated to push on. Researchers at the University of Birmingham and Manchester Metropolitan University report in the Journal of Physiology that sugary energy drinks activate reward and pleasure regions in the brain, a boost that can translate to better performance — and one that does not occur with other artificially sweetened beverages. In the study, volunteers who got sugary energy drinks were able to complete a physical-training session 2% faster than those who got artificially sweetened drinks, and improved their mean power output as well. "What we are suggesting is a central-governor model," says Ed Chambers, one of the study's co-authors and a researcher at the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Birmingham. "Ultimately, the brain controls exercise performance by controlling the neural outflow to the exercising muscles." © 2009 Time Inc.

Keyword: Drug Abuse
Link ID: 12793 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Nicole Branan Forming a grammatically correct sentence may seem to require advanced cognitive skills, but it turns out that our creative language capacity might rely on a less sophisticated system than is commonly thought. A recent study suggests that our ability to construct sentences may arise from procedural memory—the same simple memory system that lets our dogs learn to sit on command. Scientists distinguish between procedural memory, which is relevant for learning skills such as how to swim, and declarative memory, which stores knowledge, including facts and memories of events, such as one’s birthday, says Victor S. Ferreira of the University of California, San Diego. To find out which system is at work when we form sentences, Ferreira and his team exploited a phenomenon called syntactic persistence—speakers tend to use the same grammatical pattern they have used or heard in previous sentences. The researchers tested four healthy individuals and four amnesic patients. The amnesiacs’ procedural memory was intact, meaning that they could learn skills with repetitive practice, but their declarative memory abilities were damaged, leaving them unable to memorize new facts. First, all participants heard and repeated a sentence. Then they saw an unrelated picture and had to describe it. Finally, participants heard another sentence that was either identical to the original sentence or subtly changed in its meaning or grammatical structure, or both. © 1996-2009 Scientific American Inc.

Keyword: Language
Link ID: 12792 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Linda Geddes A GROWING appreciation of the links between anorexia and autism spectrum disorders has uncovered new opportunities for treating the eating disorder. Mental health professionals are now attempting to train the brains of people with anorexia to be more flexible and to see the big picture as well as fine details. In doing so, they hope patients will be less inclined to obsess about body weight and calories and be better equipped to overcome their eating disorder in the long term, as well as gaining weight more immediately. Last month, the international Academy for Eating Disorders published a paper calling for eating disorders (EDs) such as anorexia and bulimia to receive the same degree of healthcare as other biologically based mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) (International Journal of Eating Disorders, DOI: 10.1002/eat.20589). Other groups are even calling for anorexia to be placed in the same diagnostic category as autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The main reason for this change is a growing understanding of the biological basis of EDs. Twin studies suggest that between 50 and 83 per cent of EDs have a genetic basis. Now, evidence suggests that people with anorexia have cognitive traits associated with ASD. "Eating disorders and autism spectrum disorders are obviously not the same thing, but they do have some things in common," says Janet Treasure of the Institute of Psychiatry in London. © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd

Keyword: Autism; Anorexia & Bulimia
Link ID: 12791 - Posted: 06.24.2010

by Dan Jones DAYBREAK, and a group of apes are dancing around a rectangular monolith so dark it seems to suck light in. Inspired by this mysterious object, one of them grabs a bone and begins to wield it as a tool - then as a weapon. The armed ape goes hunting, makes a kill and eats flesh for the first time. Next day, he drives a rival group of apes from a watering hole and murders their leader. This, according to Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A space odyssey, is the dawn of humankind. If only it were that simple. Anyone trying to understand our origins soon realises that no one thing pushed our ape ancestors across the threshold of humanity. It is difficult to pin down what makes us human anyway. We walk upright on two legs, with disproportionately large brains held high, communicating in spoken languages, navigating the complexity of human social life, producing sophisticated tools and artefacts, and creating culture. The story of how we became human is woven from many strands. Attempts to unravel that tale have until recently relied on the hard evidence of fossilised bones. This has allowed us to make inferences about certain aspects of our ancestors: how big they were, how they moved and their cranial capacity. But there is a limit to what you can learn from bones. In particular, they tell us little about our ancestors' less tangible traits, such as how fast they grew, their age at weaning and sexual maturity, and how many offspring they had. They also tell us almost nothing about thought and behaviour. This is a problem, says Robin Dunbar of the University of Oxford, because such factors are important in human evolution. "They're all part of the big story." © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd

Keyword: Evolution
Link ID: 12790 - Posted: 06.24.2010

By Bruce Bower Predicting whether patients with mental disorders will become violent is a dicey business, and one the legal system has thrust upon mental-health workers. A new study encouragingly suggests that swift swings in the intensity of symptoms can often peg which psychiatric patients are on the verge of threatening or hurting others. Employing a statistical technique called dynamic systems modeling, the new work shows that among psychiatric patients with documented histories of committing violent acts, those whose symptoms of emotional distress rapidly and repeatedly fluctuated from mild to severe during a 26-week period were particularly apt to assault others or to threaten them with a weapon, say psychologist Candice Odgers of the University of California, Irvine and her colleagues. In cases of rapid symptom fluctuation, patients went from peaks to valleys of emotional health about every two to four weeks, the team reports in a paper published online April 15 and slated to appear in the American Journal of Psychiatry. Violence occurred less frequently among patients whose symptoms fluctuated from high to low points over longer stretches, which often lasted about 10 weeks. Overall, patients whose symptoms rapidly ebbed and flowed were almost three times as likely to become violent than those whose symptoms oscillated slowly. Patients who displayed rapidly fluctuating psychiatric symptoms that also worsened during the study were especially likely to commit two or more violent acts during the study period. © Society for Science & the Public 2000 - 2009

Keyword: Emotions; Aggression
Link ID: 12789 - Posted: 06.24.2010